Sweat, Dance and Five Pounds Gone

We Heart It

I've somehow managed to lose weight the past two weeks without really trying.  Makes me wonder what will happen when I try.  I've lost five pounds and hope to lose another five by the end of another two weeks.

I have insecurities about exercising.  Even in my own home.  I feel like I should be alone and I rarely am.  I don't like sweating, in fact as one who sweats more than the average Joe I hate it even more.  I heard you can get botox to stop the sweating but my mom went for botox for her migraines and she said that it was very painful and she felt like her face was frozen in one expression for quite some time.  I don't think I'll go with botox.  I've tried the clinical deodorants but I don't see a difference there either.

So I'll just have to deal with my sweat and get used to the fact that exercise can't always be unseen.  That sometimes by boyfriend will see me sweat and I'll have to deal and he actually enjoys it (the sicko XP).  But for the sake of another five pounds I think I'll get my iPod out in the morning and dance around the house like a fool if only for twenty minutes.

We Heart it

This is about Halloween...

Buzzzzz



Usually I am stoked about Halloween. Usually I can’t wait in JULY to start planning my costume (this year I started a plan in May). But that plan fell by the wayside and this year I’m just not feeling the Halloween buzz.

Maybe it’s because I lived in a house last year that had a ton of kids visiting for treats and this year in a basement apartment I won’t be handing out candy.

Mainly it’s because at Halloween all the good costumes for scaring people are mostly for men and all the women’s costumes that are any good are skimpy and sized os or one size fits most. One size does not fit most. It doesn’t fit me, I barely fit the plus size costumes which are at about a 12-16 size. So I tend to make my own costume, which is fine, but can get expensive if you can’t find what you need at your local thrift stores.

Take last year; I was a bee, or Abby (that’s my name for those of you who don’t know). Finding a bee costume in my size was nearly impossible so I made one from a sewing pattern. It was not the easiest as the costume pattern I liked was too small too and I had to alter the pattern.

Anyways I guess I had planned on losing weight by the next Halloween as I usually do and as usual I did not and couldn’t buy a costume this year once again. It’s really disappointing after a while of years gone by wishing you could lose some weight but not losing any – if not gaining.

I’m recycling last year’s costume and being a ZomBee, (cute eh?) this year. It’s not what I really wanted but it will do. And this is a really depressing post….

But I am excited about Christmas already!! I have big plans! BIG! Lol. So don’t worry I may not have great expectations for Halloween but Christmas will be great! And frugal! (I’ll write about it in a few weeks.)

Happy Halloween!

Awkward Moments

 

 

YOU know the times.  When someone asks you, "have you lost weight? YOU look like you have."  But truthfully you've gained weight...like twenty pounds.  How could you look like you have lost when you've gained?  How long has it been since you last seen this person?  Are they blind, nice or mean?

But what do you say? Lie and say yes?  Tell the truth and hold on for that awkward silence?

I personally tell people no I've gained, but the person usually saying so is my mother. *awkward?*

What do you say when someone thinks you have lost weight but really you haven't or even worse you have gained?  Let me know in the comments.




Personal update:  I haven't been writing on here for like a hundred and two reasons that I'm not getting into because they are all excuses.  Mainly I gained weight this summer, like twenty or thirty pounds.  I'm down four as of this morning but I don't know why because aside from walking a bit I haven't done much to lose weight.  But I'm glad that my incline in weight has faltered. 

And as for losing the weight on my own I've come to the realization that I can't, not with the amounts of prescriptions I'm on that I can't not be on.  They increase appetite and make you tired.  I was on worse ones when I got to this weight and beyond so the decrease in those has helped a lot in my weight loss but I am still on them.  And I will never be off of them.  So I'm going back to a surgeon and hopefully he/she will approve me for weight loss surgery.  I still have no idea when the date for the initial appointment will be so this is a long way off in the future.  In the meantime I plan to continue trying to lose the weight on my own. 

It's getting more difficult as the pains in my body have increased.  Exercise is next to impossible but walking seems to be improving.  I tried yoga in the summer and almost died afterwards from muscle tension...isn't it supposed to relax you??  What are your suggestions for low impact exercises that don't leave you in huge amounts of pain?  Again let me know in the comments and I will try and write again in the next few days :)  Let's see if I can!

 

10 Things I Love About Curves!

a count down

10.  The way they give shape to your clothes

9.  The femininity they define

8.  That shadow that sits across the wall at night when the light shines in through the window, it’s a defined sideways “s” shape

7.  When your partner puts their hands on your hips in a slow dance it feels amazing

6.  Cleavage!

5.  When people compliment you on your dress rather than how pretty your face is.  (The whole she’d be pretty if… factor doesn’t happen when your curves fill a dress out just right the way no skinny girl ever could).

4.  They’re just plain SEXY!

3.  Your hips are amazing for carrying toddlers around amusement parks XP

2.  They come in handy when you just don’t close your car door quite right and need to hip check it tight

And the Number One Thing I Love About Curves…

They’re me. J

How To Lose Weight Without Over-Trying

In continuation of last weeks post here are my top suggestions for low impact exercise.

1.  Swimming - According to my lifeguard friend, with the buoyancy of water you weigh fifty pounds in the water.  No matter your weight.  So swimming is my top favourite way to exercise without over-trying.  You don't have to be a pro either.  As long as you can swim any stroke, you can do any number of laps at your community pool.  It's cheap and fun.

2.  Stretching - Believe it!  Stretching helps you become limber, it builds muscle as  you use your own body weight against you and you lose weight AND get yourself loosened up for the harder exercises to come.  Even if you can't see your toes you can sit in a chair and try to reach them.  Stretch your arms out, up and back out again.  You'll feel great!


3.  Aqua-Fit - The "Old Lady Gym" is low impact for your joints and spine.  You get the benefit of low impact, lowered body weight and stretching and building muscle.  You may not burn as many calories as a gym but if you've been advised to sit out your weight loss by your doc, this will benefit you if he/she give you the OK.

I know this list is smaller but combined with a low-calorie or even-calorie diet it can be beneficial to getting you to the point where the "real" exercise comes in :)




Just keep stretching!

Five Fad Diets And My Understanding Of Them

A friend posted this on Facebook:

So how do ou lose weight when restricted to little or no exercise?  The easy answer is diet.  The hard question is which one?  So here's a list of fad diets and why I love them and hate them.

    1.  The eat the meat/cut the carbs diet.

Why I like it?  Well for people with a meat lovers soul it is ideal.  Especially if you hate vegetables.  The diet cuts down your vegetable intake and cuts all breads, grains, cereals and carbs in general from your diet, thus increasing your protein intake thereby burning more fat at a high rate.

Why I hate it?  If you got fat eating greasy meats three times a day, your arteries look like a straw with mud in it.  Upping your meat intake sounds like a heartattack waiting to happen.  It seems unsafe to me.

     2.   The one food only diet. (Alternatively the same three meals everyday, diet.)

Why I like it?  For those of you with ten to twenty pounds to lose before your beach vacation this is a quick way to lose weight really fast.  You eat lean meals, cut out all alcohol, coffee, pop, sugars etc. But your meals tend to be oatmeal one cup for breakfast, tuna and lettuce for lunch, chicken brocoli and rice for dinner.  Carrots as snack or popcorn no butter/salt.

Why I hate it?  Are you for serious?  Who can live off that and NOT cheat?  It's next to impossible, especially if you're doing the 80 pound dash down. (Like I am)  80 pounds lost in this manner would lead to cheating by day three.  Not going to work.  Also your body needs variety and this is definately not variety or enough calories to live for that matter!  Not safe.  Pretty much on my hate list.

     3.   The classic I can eat whatever I want and still lose weight fad diet.

It's a lie.  I hate it. Period.

     4.  The change your feelings change your life diet.

Why I like it?  If your eating is emotional which I think 80% of weight sufferers are, then this is your diet.  You need to work out your mind and your mouth with this diet.  Yes exercise is usually key to this one too, but if you've been advised not to exercise then it won't kill you to not include it for the first little while until you lose a little and your doc gives you the go ahead.  I like this diet because it's not a fad, its a lifestyle change.  You may have heard Oprah and Dr. Phil go on about it, he even wrote a book, and if you can get therapy from a book more power to you.  But an actual psychologist/therapist might be what you need.  Even a journal can help, if it gets whatevers troubling you off your mind.  Sometimes a close friend or family member is all you need to have yourself heard when you're feeling emotional and want to eat when you're not legitamitely hunger.

Why I hate it?  If your metabolism is high, you eat for the right reasons and you don't carry any or too much emotional baggage, this diet most likely will not work for you.  Which can suck when you put all that effort into it and see all the emotional eaters gain success while losing weight while you sit stagnant or worse - gain.  If this sounds like you, your doc is your best bet.  He/She can send you to a specialist who can tell you why you gain weight for no reason.  Some people have genetics against them and need a little push.  These are the people that get accepted for "stomach staples" or bariatric surgery like that *snaps*.   They are the ideal candidate.  If that's you maybe you should consider Minimal Invasive Surgery as an option.

      5.  The flush the fat diet.

Why I hate it?  It just sounds gross and really its not going to make you 100 lbs lighter.  This diet is a quick ten pound loss fix, not ideal for people like me.  This is another one of those, before you walk down the aisle/ go to the beach in cancun diets.

Why I like it?  It gives you that boost kick start you need to start your responsible dieting.  It's like a reminder that you can do it and you deserve to. 

Next time I'll do a list of ways to exercise when you can't exercise.

I said No

 * Please feel free to leave a comment if I've misrepresented anything or omitted something you feel should be known :)

Keeping Up With The Cobwebs

So I’m finally reconnected to the web.  I have a computer that actually works! This is amazing.  While computerless for the past I don’t know, almost year?? I’ve lost my concentration on the whole weight loss thing.  I’ve been slowly getting back into it and I think blogging really helped me and the more I forgot or neglected to blog the less I worked out the less weight I worked on losing…

So I’m going to start fresh this summer.  Weighing in at a total of 262 lbs I’m looking to lose another 80, but small goals first.  I’d like to be at a weight of 255lbs in three weeks.  Seems impossible at the moment, I’m so not motivated, but I know that I can actually do it.  I’ve started swimming with a friend every other day and I think I’ll swim a lot more than just float if I get some goggles so I can see where I’m going when I am doing laps.  I’ve made a plan to exercise for thirty minutes a day but so far in the past two days since making said goal having not lived up to it whatsoever.  And it’s one in the morning right now so there is no way I’m going for a walk in this neighbourhood at this hour by myself.  It’ll have to wait until morning.  That’s okay.

So why does blogging work for me and losing weight?  Well for one thing, if I do it on a regular basis it keeps me focused on what my goals are.  It keeps it in the front of my brain instead of back with the cobwebs.  You don’t have to write a blog to keep focused.  If sharing with others isn’t your thing try sharing with yourself through the old fashioned personal journal.  They’re a great, inexpensive way to keep you motivated.  Write an entry before you work out, then write one after you’re done for seven days; after the seven days read over what you wrote to see if your “mood” changed as you went further with your exercises and after exercising.

I find writing up motivational posters around my apartment help too.  I get out the old grade school Bristol board and sharpie markers, and I create colourful images and words to keep me going.  I have my most recent one at the foot of the bed so I see it every morning.  I have things on it like current weight/weight loss metre, I have things like “Fit Not Thin!” strewn across it and four steps to a healthy me.

Keeping your exercise equipment in view is a great way to keep yourself motivated.  Started to head to the corner store for a quick snack?  But as you were tying up your running shoes you saw your jump rope sitting there all lonely looking for a little love, so you skipped the unhealthy snack and went to jump some rope for a half hour.  Bam! You’re sugar craving is gone, you’ve exercised and you feel better about yourself in one fell swoop.

It’s sounding so easy now, but it’s not, it is hard and that’s okay.  Nothing worth doing ever came easy, right?  And it’s your health, your life, so trust me when I say, it’s worth doing. ;)